Karen Khachanov believes that last year’s Rogers Cup in Montreal was a breakthrough for him. The Russian player reached the semifinals losing to Rafael” nadal> in a close straight-set match. A few months later, in Paris, he won his maiden Masters 1000 title beating Novak Djokovic in a championship clash.

“Even before Canada I was playing well, reaching Wimbledon and French Open fourth rounds, winning Marseille, but here it was more of a breakthrough, competing against Rafa on such a big stage. I was feeling more confident, I had more chances, I was able to prepare well physically even though I had not done well in Washington”, said Khachanov.

Analyzing his current season, Russia’s No. 2 added: “This year has been a lot of ups and downs, a rollercoaster. In the first three months, I did not get the results I expected to especially after finishing on the highest note last year.

But in the end it’s tennis, everybody wants to beat you. It’s about putting a lot of things together, believing in yourself like I did in the French Open by reaching my maiden Grand Slam quarter-final.” Khachanov concluded: “I just want to get better and maybe have more consistent results this year and to try to aim for higher goals.

But [I’m taking it] one step at a time, and first you need to try to be more competitive in more matches and then hopefully my ‘A’ game will work better”.